


Biding Time

by tucuxi



Category: Naruto
Genre: Community: trope_bingo, Gen, Huddling For Warmth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-17
Updated: 2013-04-17
Packaged: 2017-12-08 18:27:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/764584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tucuxi/pseuds/tucuxi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Do I really need a summary?  Kakashi and Iruka huddle for warmth and wait for rescue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Biding Time

**Author's Note:**

> Remarkably tame for a huddling for warmth fic. Really, this fic is all about Kakashi being useless in the cold. Many thanks to [](http://emmee-kay.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://emmee-kay.livejournal.com/)**emmee_kay** for an excellent beta-ing job.

“This is ridiculous,” Iruka managed: his teeth were chattering so hard he could hardly force the words out. He didn’t see Kakashi respond, but he hadn’t really expected him to. Then again, Kakashi’s hair matched the snow surrounding them so well Iruka could hardly tell where the one started and the other began. Iruka tucked his hands back under his armpits and drew his knees up to his chin.

It didn’t really help. When he looked over again a few minutes later, Kakashi hadn’t moved. Apparently he was going to keep on ignoring Iruka as steadfastly as he had been since they’d gotten stuck here. _What the hell_ , Iruka decided. At least if Kakashi killed him for this, it’d be fast. Hypothermia was no way to go.

“Kakashi-san,” Iruka said, and scooted closer. “I think the situation calls for —“ Kakashi opened one eye, the iris shockingly dark against his pale skin. He didn’t move otherwise, so Iruka edged toward him again.

“Look,” Iruka tried, “we’re losing body heat like this. It’d be more efficient if we—“ Kakashi blinked, and it looked almost as if he was trying to focus. _Oh,_ Iruka thought, _that’s not a good sign_. “Just come here,” he finished, skipping justifications and holding out one hand. Kakashi nodded, and took it. His fingers were even colder than Iruka’s, despite his half-gloves. Iruka tugged him closer, and Kakashi complied without protest. Iruka wrapped an arm around Kakashi’s shoulders and sighed in relief when Kakashi’s body-heat finally began to soak through to his side.

This close, Iruka could feel the full-body shivering that hadn’t been visible from a few feet away. Kakashi was probably using some jutsu to suppress his reaction to the cold, Iruka realized. It was a manifestly stupid idea, in Iruka’s opinion, but he wasn’t a genius jounin, so who knew. Ten minutes later, Iruka was less willing to give Kakashi the benefit of the doubt: the shivering hadn’t stopped.

“Kakashi-san,” Iruka asked, “are you —“ he stopped. _Are you all right_? was an inane question: they were stuck in a snowed-in prison cell, chakra-drained beyond any hope of escape, waiting in the hopes that one of Kakashi’s summons would get through to help. Of course he wasn’t all right.

“Fuck it,” Iruka said. Kakashi shuddered when Iruka moved his arm; Iruka gripped Kakashi around the waist and dragged him into Iruka’s lap, where he wouldn’t be in contact with the floor or walls at all. Kakashi made a muffled noise of protest, and Iruka ignored him. “You’re still shivering,” Iruka pointed out to the back of Kakashi’s head. When Kakashi didn’t respond, he added: “You really don’t want to kill me right now. I’m a much more effective source of heat if I’m alive.”

Kakashi made a frustrated noise, but he settled back against Iruka’s chest soon enough. _All right_ , Iruka thought, _now what?_ Hopefully one of Kakashi’s nin dogs had made it out, but they couldn’t count on that. And Kakashi wasn’t in any state to plan right now. The sooner he warmed up, the sooner they’d be able to figure a way out.

The light seeping into their cell changed gradually; Iruka counted heartbeats and tried to get Kakashi to talk to him, to keep them both awake. It didn't look like Kakashi was going to be their way out, and Iruka started racking his brain trying to come up with a plan.

In the end, the way out was a handful of blows from Sakura, while Naruto jumped up and down in impatience and Yamato and Sai stood in place, their cloaks billowing out around them. Iruka supposed it was probably embarrassing to be rescued by your former students, but by that point, he was a lot more worried about Kakashi than about saving face.

“He’s hypothermic,” Iruka told Sakura. She nodded, checked his heart rate, checked his hands, and frowned. Kakashi frowned back, though he seemed more confused than anything else.

“He’s almost entirely out of chakra,” she told Iruka. “Yamato-taichou,” she called, “you’ll have to carry Kakashi-sensei.” Kakashi propped himself up on his elbows, jabbing Iruka in the process, and opened his mouth to protest. “No,” Sakura told him. “You have next to no chakra left, and you’re in no condition to argue.” To Iruka’s surprise, Kakashi just nodded.

When they’d gotten some distance away, and Yamato had grown them a small house, Sakura bent down to consider Kakashi.

“Kakashi-sensei will need to be close to someone warm,” Sakura said, “since we can’t light a fire. Yamato-taichou has to be free, and Naruto would freak out, so, Iruka-sensei and Sai, can you —“

Iruka nodded. “You’re a fire type?” Sakura asked him, and Iruka nodded, a little surprised. “Good. That’s why you’re in better shape than he is.” Iruka stepped over toward Kakashi, and Sakura stopped him. “Get these wet things off, first,” she said. “I’ll get Kakashi-sensei out of the worst of it — there’s no sense insulating the cold in.” Iruka pulled off his damp cloak and his vest, and then the long-sleeved shirt and outer pair of pants he’d been wearing.

Over in one corner, Sakura was coaxing Kakashi into taking off his cloak and vest. Sai must have some kind of super-human resistance to cold, because when he shrugged out of his cloak, he was wearing the same midriff-baring outfit he usually did.

Sakura positioned them on each side of Kakashi, wrapped a couple of blankets on top of them, put something warm at their feet, and forbade them all to move until she came back. Iruka settled into a comfortable position, made sure he had Kakashi’s hands tucked securely and icily against his chest, and allowed himself to finally fall asleep.


End file.
